SAINT PART 1
by Battle-angel Saint
Summary: Slightly AU, Earth is plagued by the machines, but in John Connor's 'Habitat', humans live in safety. Rookie soldier, Rikishi Takahshi, accidentally finds a female amnesiac cyborg called S.A.I.N.T/T17X, a terminator who used to be a normal girl. Who's s
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Terminator etc, so please don't sue me. I am  
poor. I've wanted to do this fanfic for ages. It's slightly AU, but more or less  
based around the first two terminator films. There is some obvious inspiration from Dragonball Z when it comes to Saint and.well I've already  
said too much.  
  
S.A.I.N.T.  
Saint Trilogy part 1- Ignition.  
  
"Long, lost words whisper slowly to me, still can't find what keeps me  
here."  
- Evanescence, Haunted.  
  
Rikishi sighed heavily, as he walked out of the lift and took his first look at Habitat, the domed citadel, one of the last places where people lived, safe from the machines. It reminded him of when he was small, and stayed in the small Disney apartment area at an airport in Florida. There were plants here and there, hanging from the apartments, and water features in the 'town square'. Mingled in with the citizens who lived in this sanctuary, were many military personnel, identified by camouflage print uniforms. He wore one too, but his prints were of varying shades of blue, rather then earthy colours. He looked around for some help, wondering where to go. He had been transferred here to Habitat, to act as Lieutenant for a Captain Connor, who he had heard, could be a right dragon at times.  
  
He knew he probably stood out. His fatigues were different. And he probably looked foreign- he was always told that he looked like a twenty- year-old Jet Li. He never thought of himself like that. He was Japanese- American. His mom was from Michigan, whereas his father was from Kobe.  
  
Where the heck was he going to find this 'Captain Connor'? He looked around, looking for someone to ask.  
  
"Excuse me?" he asked a woman in the Habitat military uniform. "Where can I find a Captain Connor?"  
  
"John or Sarah?" the woman asked.  
  
Rikishi shrugged. He didn't recognise those names- he wasn't familiar with many military personnel, after spending so long on the front lines. Mind you, his old commander had hinted Rikishi's new boss would be a guy. "John?"  
  
The woman smiled. "Follow me."  
  
She led him off through some corridors, and then through some doors with the signs 'security personnel only'. She turned to him and smiled. "I'm Cassie. Cassie King. And you are?"  
  
"Lieutenant Rikishi Takahashi."  
  
She smirked. "Formal."  
  
Rikishi was confused. She seemed to have no rank, so why was she speaking so casually to him? The other soldiers he had met were not at all like her.  
  
She approached some security doors, where two macho guys cradling machine guns stood. "King," she said. "Hi fellas. We have a hotshot Lieutenant here who wants to see Captain Connor, but he isn't sure which one. He just gave me a blank look when I asked him."  
  
The nearest guy flicked out his wrist to reveal a com-watch. He looked at Rikishi suspiciously. "Name?"  
  
"Rikishi Takahashi," Rikishi sighed. Cassie was annoying him, and he was getting a little impatient. "Look, I've been told this is important, so if you could just kindly direct me to-"  
  
"Go through, hotshot, room two-three-niner. Should be just along the corridor." The guy turned away, and Cassie started walking back to the main dome. Seriously confused by the behaviour of these people, Rikishi pushed his way through the door. I stick out like a sore thumb, he thought.  
  
No wonder. Firstly Rikishi was wearing the different prints. And he knew that he was behaving a lot more formally then these strangers were used to. He tried to relax. Personally, he wasn't at all formal at heart. In fact, he was a prankster. He used to liven up his platoons by being the clown, playing jokes on everyone, telling stories, mucking about, hence his call sign 'The Joker'.  
  
Just be myself, he told himself. If I just be myself, I should fit in better.  
  
He came to room two-three-nine. He rapped his knuckles on the door and waited.  
  
"Come in," came a low voice from inside.  
  
He gripped the handle and let himself in. The room was dark, and small, containing a single desk and two chairs. A woman wearing the same fatigues, and massive boots sat at a chair, her feet propped up on the table. She looked up at him and stood up. "Can I help you?"  
  
He backed away. "Sorry, I think I got the wrong place. I'm looking for Connor."  
  
She grimaced. Her face was hardened, she didn't look too old, but certainly seemed knowing. "I am Connor, moron. I suppose you're the rookie that the front-lines sent back from Japan?"  
  
Rikishi glowered at her. "I am Lieutenant Takahashi."  
  
She smiled. It was a jaunty, but not an unkind smile. She held out a calloused hand. "I'm Sarah."  
  
He took her hand. "And I call you.?"  
  
"Either Captain or Sarah."  
  
He shook his head and laughed. "I think there's been a mistake. I was sent for a John Connor."  
  
She grinned at him. Despite her battled-hardened face, her eyes still gleamed with youth and hope. "No, kiddo, you were sent to help me out. I am the captain around here. El Capitan. John isn't- he's the Head Commander."  
  
Rikishi rubbed his temples with his fingers. "I am seriously confused. You are Captain Connor? My former commander implied you were a man."  
  
"Well he's a dickhead then," Sarah quipped. "Look, what's your name kid?"  
  
"Rikishi," he replied. "And could you please refer to me as 'lieutenant' instead of 'kid'?"  
  
She laughed again, only a little more raucously. "Look, kid, forget whatever you learned with your last commander. The Habitat Soldiers are completely different. We only use our ranks in missions. We don't walk around with the stiff 'sir, yes sir!' thing. Besides, since you are new here, you aren't the big war hero. You're the rookie."  
  
"Pardon?"  
  
She leaned towards him, her funny-cockiness evanesced, and her expression looking a lot more like that of bull that had been taunted by the matador. "You might have heard all these stories about Habitat being the safest place for humans on Earth. Shall I tell you why? Because every single officer in this entire Citadel pull their weight and fight. So you're a lieutenant who's being staying on the front lines. I know how it goes out there- you and your platoon probably had it easy. Habitat is attacked everyday, and is still standing because every soldier here is fighting. Outside the walls of Habitat, it is the front lines. You are the rookie, Rikishi."  
  
He decided it was time to drop his big polite act and finally reveal to this callous captain his true personality.  
  
"If that's so, El Capitan, why do you need me?" he asked, with an arrogant tone.  
  
She grinned. "You have hacker skills?"  
  
Rikishi nodded. He had been a hacker before his military days, and although he had been a soldier for a while now, those skills had become invaluable in some of his missions. He hadn't even considered that Habitat would need these skills.  
  
Sarah led him out back into the corridor, and locked the door behind her. "I think I better have John debrief you. Not even I'm entirely certain why we needed a computer hacker. But John usually knows what he's doing."  
  
Rikishi followed her as she began to walk off into the labyrinthine corridors. "What is it with this place? Don't you have rules and regulations?"  
  
She snorted. "Yes. But like I said, we do things very differently here. John needs you to help me, in whatever mission he's got planned for me next. But if you can't help, he won't bother."  
  
She stopped at another door. Rikishi stopped her before she opened the door. "Wait. Who's top-dog around here? You or John?"  
  
She grinned. "John, but he has listen to me. I am his mother after all."  
  
He nearly fell over. "You're John Connor's mother?"  
  
"You gotta hearing problem?"  
  
"No. But I guess that makes a lot of sense now."  
  
She smiled and nodded. "We like to confuse people on that around here. Most of us get kicks out of it." Ignoring the look of disdain on Rikishi's face, she pushed the door open. "Hey, Johnny boy? The rookie's here!"  
  
The room was brighter than Sarah's had been. A young man in fatigues, not much older then Rikishi himself, sat at the table. He looked like a friendly guy, unlike his mother, and he grinned brightly at Rikishi as he stepped in. He stood up to shake hands. "Lieutenant Takahashi? Pleased to meet you. I'm Commander Connor. Just call me John."  
  
Rikishi made his mind up immediately- he liked John. He gave John a hearty handshake. "Pleasure's all mine, John. Call me Rikishi."  
  
"Sure. Take a seat, Rikishi." Turning to Sarah he said: "Mom, could you ask the guys to get some land-cruisers ready?" She nodded and left. Rikishi sat down and noticed there was one other person in the room, standing behind John's chair. He was not wearing the normal uniform. He wore a dog-tag and combat trousers, but he wore a leather jacket and a pair of shades. He looked pretty buff and was totally loaded with weaponry, but that wasn't why he seemed intimidating. The guy not only looked strong, but he looked quite eerie- Rikishi couldn't tell if the guy was staring at him or not, with his shades. He assumed this man was John's bodyguard.  
  
"You're bodyguard kind reminds me of that actor.what's his name.err.Arnold Schwarzenegger," Rikishi commented.  
  
John nodded. "I ought to let you know something, Rikishi. We don't trust machines that we haven't made ourselves.except for one."  
  
Rikishi cocked his head. "Huh?"  
  
John turned to his bodyguard. "T, you better give him a demonstration."  
  
The bodyguard stepped forward and removed a glove from his left hand. He then took a knife from his pocket and began to cut around his little finger. Blood trickled along his palm and dripped onto the desk.  
  
Revolted, Rikishi leapt to his feet. "Hey dude! Don't do that! You'll hurt yourself!"  
  
But the bodyguard ignored him. It sure didn't seem to be hurting him. He showed no expression on his face. Suddenly, he ripped the skin from his bloody finger, revealing.  
  
Metal?  
  
A metal skeleton?  
  
"YAAAAH!" Rikishi yelped, backing away. "He's a fucking TERMINATOR!!!!"  
  
John stood up. "Hey, calm down. T won't hurt you. Yes, you're right, he is a terminator, but he's been reprogrammed. He's one of us. Show him, T."  
  
Rikishi glanced at T. He was putting his glove back on, ignoring the blood. He stepped forward and offered his right hand. Rikishi shook his head. With his left hand, the Terminator lowered his shades to look at him. His eyes were surprisingly human.  
  
"I won't bite," he said in a monotone voice.  
  
After a painful pause, Rikishi stepped forward. Uncertainly, he grasped T's hand and shook slowly.  
  
"See," John said. "I told you."  
  
Rikishi and T stepped away from each other. "Jesus, John, I hope I'm not offending T here, but what on earth possessed you to keep a terminator?"  
  
John smiled. "This one was sent to save me. It's happened a coupla times, but this one managed to not get trashed. He's a friend. And just so that you know, we've programmed him to learn. He might be offended by what you say."  
  
With a gulp, Rikishi glanced up at T. This guy, he certainly did NOT want to offend. T smiled at him.  
  
"So.err.what exactly did you need me for?"  
  
John indicated the chair in which Rikishi had leapt away from. Giving T and uncertain glance, Rikishi sat down and John went to pull something out a filing cabinet.  
  
"Firstly, Rikishi," John said, "we needed a new hacker. The last one was killed a week ago, while on a mission. We decided we actually needed a hacker who could fight as well. Just one reason why we picked you. I've heard a lot of positive things about you."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"However, I've heard a lot of negative things about you too," John added. "Like back on the Factory Mission, I heard your platoon were sent out for. You disobeyed direct orders from your commander. And this is just one of many incidents I have been informed about."  
  
Rikishi looked away, feeling abashed. He did have a tendency to break minor rules, but more often or not, the Missions ended up becoming suicide attacks, and by disobeying the orders, he'd gotten his men out alive. He was sort of hoping that his 'permanent record' was forgotten now that he was at Habitat.  
  
John leaned forward, grinning. "That's the primary reason why I chose you, Rikishi. You have a certain disregard for rules- you know when you need to obey them, and when to ignore them. That's a quality we all need here at Habitat. Sure, you'll get in trouble for it, but we won't court marshal your ass later." He leaned back, opened the file and passed some aerial photos over to Rikishi. "Recognise this area?"  
  
He looked. "No."  
  
"We call it 'Section 975'. It's about twenty miles south. Our Hornet Planes took these photos. It's an area we've tried to investigate before. It has been quite desolate for some time, be we do find terminators in the region quite often."  
  
"What does this have to do with me?" Rikishi asked.  
  
John pointed to a blurred image on the photo. "This part is a lock: a hacker needs to get through."  
  
"A lock? What is it for?"  
  
"A door, into an underground bunker."  
  
Rikishi looked at the photo again and then looked back up at John, a serious look on his face. "This is where the last hacker died?"  
  
John nodded. "He couldn't fight. We can't usually send more then two people on these missions, otherwise they get detected. We sent Merlin, the hacker, and a soldier called Brock into the area. Brock was overpowered by a group of terminators that attacked, and then they killed Merlin. If Merlin had known how to fight, there's a chance that we'd have gotten into the bunker, and I wouldn't be talking to you right now."  
  
Rikishi looked at the photo again. "When do you want me to go?"  
  
"As soon as possible."  
  
Rikishi rolled his eyes upwards, remembering. "Your Mom said this was her mission. Am I going with her?"  
  
John nodded.  
  
Rikishi leaned back. "Packs of terminators, having to hack and fight at the same time, and with Sarah as my commander. Well, this going to be a nice little picnic. Shall I invite Yogi the bear?"  
  
"You don't have to do this if you don't want to."  
  
With a sigh, Rikishi stood up. "Look, I don't back down from a mission so easily.sir," I'll go. But firstly, I wanna get some new fatigues." He fingered his blue clothes. "It feels a little weird, being the odd one out."  
  
John nodded. "Hey, I'll show you to your apartment." He stood up and opened the door. Rikishi and T stepped out. Rikishi shuddered a little, remembering what T had done to his finger. John started to lead them out of the security area.  
  
"So, do you know anything else about this bunker? What it was used for? It's just I'd rather now as much as possible before running in and doing my Indiana Jones thing." Rikishi asked.  
  
John nodded. "From the waste we've found lying around outside, it seems they were doing biological experiments. We've found human remains, which were obviously tampered with, as well as mecha parts. Someone has been doing some kind of cybernetic experiments on those poor bastards. But for what reason, we have no idea."  
  
So, what did everyone think? I know Saint isn't actually here yet, but she'll be coming along in the next chapter, with some rather explosive results. Please review- and be kind because this is my first proper fanfic, and I get upset easily. 


	2. Awakening

Okay, people, this time, you're gonna meet Saint herself. But lets say her  
introduction is less then .ah. pleasant.  
  
S.A.I.N.T.  
  
"How can you see into my eyes, like open doors?  
Leading you down into my core where I've become so numb,  
Without a soul, my spirit sleeping somewhere cold  
Until you find me there and lead it back home."  
-Evanescence, Bring me to life.  
  
Rikishi was less then keen to go with Sarah to this 'Section 975', but he himself was curious to see what was in that bunker. Not that he was a sick type of guy, but he wanted to know what had happened. John showed Rikishi his new apartment.  
  
"I'm good to go anytime soon," Rikishi told him.  
  
"Get settled in first," John suggested. "Not even I expect to have you rearing to go, twenty minutes after arriving. There should be some new fatigues in the wardrobe anyway. Need anything else?"  
  
Rikishi shook his head. "Naah. I'll be fine. Give me thirty minutes, and I'll be begging to go."  
  
John smirked. "From what you said to me earlier, I doubt it. I take it you and my mom hit it off badly?"  
  
Rikishi bit his lip. After walking into Sarah, he had basically made his mind up about her- she was not someone he would be getting on well with. He forced a smile. Heck, he'd get on better with the terminator known simply as 'T' then with Sarah.  
  
John turned to leave. "I'll just let my Mom know that you'll be reading in half an hour then. If you need anything, just ask." He closed the door, and disappeared from view. Rikishi looked around- his 'personal effects' had already been brought up here. He put his belongings away and got changed into the new fatigues that were more accustomed to the Habitat personnel.  
  
Thirty minutes later, there was a knock at his door. He was in his bathroom, combing his hair. "Come in!" he called.  
  
He heard the door open. He stepped out and saw Sarah waiting there.  
  
"You ready, kid?" she asked.  
  
He bristled. He hated being patronised. "Yes. How we getting to this 'Section 975' anyway?"  
  
"Dirt bike."  
  
Despite himself, he couldn't help but grin. "Dirt bike? I love bikes! I used to have a nice Harley Davidson, a few years back. Got blown up unfortunately." He turned to her. "What will I need?"  
  
That's when he noticed the bag that Sarah held in her hand. She chucked it over, and he caught it by the handle. He opened it, and pulled out a rather high-tech-looking laptop.  
  
"Sweet," he commented.  
  
"That was Merlin's computer," she said. "Do you know how to operate it?"  
  
He took a look at it. "Yeah. It's cutting edge, but fairly easy to use. Okay. Get me a gun, and I'm set."  
. . . Five minutes later, a submachine gun strapped to his back, and the computer safely snug in it's bag, Rikishi stormed away from Habitat on the dirt bike Sarah had loaned him. Over the desolate plains, they sped, the wind rushing around them. Rikishi veered over to Sarah.  
  
"Whaddaya think we'll find?" he yelled, the wind whipping the words out of his mouth.  
  
"Dunno, kid!" she yelled back. "Frankenstein's monster?"  
  
He thought again, about what John had told him. He bit his lip, remembering John's words "...it seems they were doing biological experiments. We've found human remains, which were obviously tampered with, as well as mecha parts." Horrid mental images of mutilated body parts with screws and bolts pushed through them came to mind. Rikishi had enjoyed the beginning of this journey, but now, he felt very sick.  
  
Soon, the Habitat faded from view, and only endless wastelands under dark skies were ahead. Uncertain of his surroundings, Rikishi made sure to follow Sarah's bike as they blew across the necropolis. What had this place been, Rikishi couldn't help but wonder. A town? A town with houses, and shops, roads, bars and even a school? But all that was left of that world now was dead earth, blowing up clouds of dust from beneath the racing dirt bikes.  
  
On the horizon, objects began to rise up from the ground. Soon, Rikishi recognised them as the remains of building- single walls, with no roofs, all that remained of the little community that had dwelled here.  
  
"We're in the Section now," Sarah yelled back over her shoulder. Now, more obvious building skeletons blurred by. No terminators or other machines so far. And in the distance, stood a small squat building. Sarah was approaching it, so Rikishi followed, eyes trained for movement.  
  
They stopped a couple of yards from it, and parked the bikes. It wasn't exactly a building, Rikishi noticed, but more like a chrome steel shed. The door was battered, and suspicious red patches splattered along the front of the 'shed'. Rikishi unslung the bag and removed the computer from inside. Sarah shielded him, gun ready. He backed against the blood- smattered door, and yanked some cables out of the bag, connecting them to the computer. Sarah glanced around silently, like a hawk, ever-watching. Rikishi worked in silence, as he yanked open the control pad that would have been used to enter a six-digit password.  
  
"Any trouble so far, kid?" Sarah asked.  
  
"So far so good," he muttered, pushing the other end of the cable into the drive of the password box.  
  
"Never say that."  
  
"Huh?" He wasn't really listening- the computer was on line, and he was trying to hack into the new system so the program could find the password.  
  
"Never say 'So far so good'," Sarah replied. "The only time a person says that is right before everything blows up in his face."  
  
Rikishi smirked. "You didn't strike me as the superstitious type, Sarah. You afraid I'm going to jinx this mission or something?"  
  
"This is not a place where we wanna be jinxed," Sarah snapped, still looking about for possible danger. "You just get that door open, so we can check it out and get out of here. Is your weapon on safety?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Okay." The program was operational. It was scrambling, looking for the code. Now it was a matter of being patient. The 'searching' message scrolled across the screen.  
  
Sarah suddenly lurched forward, and took her gun off safety.  
  
"What is it?" Rikishi asked, not glancing up from the screen.  
  
"It maybe nothing," she replied, though her tone sounded mildly concerned. "There's some movement a little way off. But its better to be safe then sorry, right?" Rikishi made a sound of agreement. One digit had been found.  
  
"Should I get my gun ready?" he asked.  
  
Pause. Then, "Yes."  
  
He unslung the sub-machine gun he had strapped to his back and placed Merlin's computer on the floor gently. He stepped away from it and glanced around, pausing to glance at the screen again. One other digit had been found.  
  
"Four more to go," Rikishi said.  
  
"Shit," Sarah muttered.  
  
He snapped his head up. "What?"  
  
He followed her gaze. Three humanoid figures in the distance. But they weren't human. Their metal bodies glinted silver in the dim light.  
  
"Damn," he hissed and aimed his gun. "Where the hell did they come from?"  
  
Sarah made no reply except for a heavy grunt as she fired on them. Rikishi aimed his weapon and fired too.  
  
RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRRTTTRTRRRTRRRTTTT!!  
  
Two of the terminators flopped out of sight.  
  
"How long is that damn thing gonna take?" Sarah demanded as she fired upon the remaining one.  
  
"A few minutes. It still needs to find four digits for the pass-code."  
  
"Shit!" she snapped again.  
  
"What? Those three are gone!"  
  
"Those three, yeah."  
  
Rikishi looked up again- he had been checking on the computer. Six more terminators now approached. "Shit! Where the bloody hell did THEY come from?!"  
  
"Stop whinging and shoot them already!" Sarah snapped, letting rip.  
  
RTTRTRTRTRTRTRRTTRTRTRRRTRRTRTTT!!!  
  
These machines were obviously stronger. They simple rocked backwards as the bullets hit them. Rikishi fired too, aiming, and then glancing at the screen.  
  
"It's halfway there!" he yelled over the gunfire. Three digits found, three more to go.  
  
"Bastards!" Sarah hissed. Only one was down. "Shit! DUCK!"  
  
RTRTRTRTTTRRRTRTTTRTRTRTTT!!!!!  
  
Sounds of rounds hitting the metal walls above them echoed, as Rikishi pressed himself to the floor, and took aim with his gun again. "How many of them have weapons?"  
  
"Two!" Sarah answered, firing another few rounds. "But these ones seem stronger then the last three. Even if they have no weapons, they could still take us on, 'cos our guns don't affect them!"  
  
Rikishi quickly realised the seriousness of the situation. Unless the computer hacked through in time, they were going to be beaten to death by those terminators. He fired another round, still low to the ground. "Guess I did jinx it," he said apologetically. He glanced back at the screen. "If it's any help, we only need to two more digits now."  
  
Sarah bit her lip. "If we can take out the two with the guns, maybe we can stand a chance."  
  
Rikishi nodded and waited. The sounds of the enemy gunfire boomed above him, and he saw fire lighting from one of the terminators, the furthest back. He took aim for it's head and fired.  
  
RTRTRTRTTRTRRTTT!!!!  
  
Blam! Its head was gone. It fell backwards.  
  
More gunfire sounded. Sarah took aim and suddenly, it was only three terminators again. But that was bad enough. They didn't seem to react to the fire upon them, and they were now only about ten yards away.  
  
Adrenalin rushing through his veins, Rikishi grabbed the computer. "One more digit! Come on!" he screamed at it. Sarah continued to fire in vain as the mechanical trio closed in on them. They had passed their bikes now.  
  
"Shit! Come on!!"  
  
Still searching.  
  
Rikishi began to panic. He could see the soulless red gleam in their eyes as the machines came closer. One reached up his hand towards Sarah.aiming for her throat.  
  
BEEP!  
  
Rikishi looked at the computer- the last number had been found! The door swung open. Just as the machine was about to close his hand on Sarah's neck, Rikishi grabbed her arm and the computer and dragged her through the doorway. They slammed the door shut, and fell back, panting in relief.  
  
"We did it," he breathed, after he calmed down, and the adrenalin washed out of his system. The machines feebly pounded on the doors. They were not getting in.  
  
"What is this?" Sarah asked. They seemed to be in a small room. There were no doors- just this one square room.  
  
Rikishi climbed to his feet, and pulled a small torch out of his pocket. He shone the tiny light on the walls, looking for something. He saw a panel on the wall. He inspected it.  
  
"I think," he said, "that this one room is an elevator."  
  
Sarah came to stand behind him. "Really?"  
  
Rikishi pushed a button on the panel. There was the strange sinking feeling in his stomach as they descended. "Yep, it's an elevator alright."  
  
When the elevator finally halted, the door they had come in through slid open, revealing a long dirty corridor. Eyes trained for any sign of movement, and guns at the ready, they stepped out of the corridor.  
  
As they stepped out, they noticed that the walls were actually floor-to- ceiling windows, and ask they looked through them, they could make out the remains of laboratories. They approached the first door, and shoved it open, weapons still cocked. They stepped through, treading carefully over the trashed floor. Papers, remains of equipment and apparatus littered the floor. Cages on a shelf were all shut, except for one that looked as if the inhabitant had chewed its way out. It turned out to be a small pit bull terrier, which lay long dead on the floor in a pool of dried up blood. Rikishi turned away and looked in the other cages. Mainly, they were filled with dead rabbits and dogs, including a beautiful Irish setter.  
  
"Someone was using these animals for experimentation," Sarah commented.  
  
"Not an uncommon practice," Rikishi replied.  
  
"No." She started towards the door again. "There's nothing in here. Let's check out the next lab. She gingerly stepped over the corpse of the terrier. "Poor thing. It must have been desperate to get out of that cage."  
  
Rikishi followed her into the next lab. It was tidier, but lying still on what looked like an operating table was a Doberman.  
  
At least, it looked like a Doberman.  
  
"Shit! What is that!?" Rikishi yelled. Its entire left side was stripped of flesh. Underneath glinted a metal skeleton.  
  
Sarah grimaced. "A cyborg dog. It's a terminator too. They've inserted a mechanical skeleton into its body." She approached and touched it uncertainly. "You don't need to worry, kiddo, its dead. It probably didn't even survive the operation."  
  
Rikishi was shaken up. He backed out of the lab. "Th-that was disgusting!" he stammered.  
  
Sarah nodded. "Someone was playing God down here."  
  
They checked the next two the rooms, but there was nothing to be found- until they entered the last lab. It was more damaged then the others, and darker, so it was harder to walk around. In here, human body parts littered the tables. Rikishi clutched his stomach as the smell of rotting flesh hit his nostrils. Sarah walked on ahead, strapping her machine gun back to her back and pulling out a small pistol. Rikishi wondered around, turning a pale shade of green.  
  
"Rikishi! Look at this!"  
  
He stumbled after her, and then turned a corner. He stopped dead.  
  
"Holy."  
  
Three tanks, all next to each other. What looked like parts men inside, but parts of their skin was all torn off. In one was a head. A metallic jaw gutted out of the skin, and the one good eye rolled back into the socket. The other contained a torso, opened up, containing a mechanical heart. And finally there was an arm.  
  
"No way." Rikishi growled. "Who would do this.?"  
  
"C'mon," Sarah said. "These were people. We have to see if there are any survivors." She walked off, and Rikishi followed, seeing a whole new row of partially covered tanks. Ten in all. Some were empty, he found, but most were obviously beyond saving. He turned away, about to give up, when he saw one more, covered by a curtain.  
  
He yanked it down and uncovered a girl.  
  
She was very beautiful, with swirling mists of pale blonde hair, a graceful face, and perfect creamy skin. She was absolutely naked, but Rikishi for once wasn't paying attention to the censored parts of her body. Wire stuck in and out of her perfect form, jutting out of her arms, neck, belly and legs. She also had a few attached to her head, and one connected to her nose. The poor girl, he though, resting a hand solemnly on the cool glass of the tank. She couldn't have been much older then eighteen. Such a pretty thing, to have died in this glass coffin with bubbles around her.  
  
Bubbles?  
  
He glanced at the other tanks. The fluid inside them was still. But the bubbles were still rising about this girl. He looked down and saw a small screen. It was reading a heart beat.  
  
HER heartbeat!  
  
"Sarah! Sarah, we've found a survivor!" he yelled. Sarah came running up, dodging the debris, and he began to look at the controls around the bottom of the tank.  
  
"What?"  
  
"This girl is still alive. They've left her life support on! She's still alive, Sarah!"  
  
Sarah grinned. "I guess we didn't completely screw up." She noticed what he was doing. "Hey, why don't you just break the glass?"  
  
"I could hurt her."  
  
"Good point."  
  
"Try and find some stats and stuff," he said. "I think I saw a few clipboards with medical notes on them. Try and find hers." He checked the code on the tank. "It'll be T17/X."  
  
He heard Sarah rummaging behind her. He found the control, but it was trying to get it work- it was jammed. He opened the panel, and started trying to mess with the wires, trying get it working again. He heard Sarah's voice behind him.  
  
"T17/X, is it?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"These notes are weird. They don't have her name or anything. Well, I suppose when she wakes up she can tell us herself. Hmm.it has her physical info, though. She's seventeen years old, nine stone, apparently a twin, it says here. Wonder why that's at all significant."  
  
"During the Second World war, Jews were taken into concentration camps," Rikishi replied, "and twins were often taken away for experimentation."  
  
"Oh." Sarah carried on flipping through the papers. "Yeah, just medical mumbo-jumbo that I don't recognise. Oh. Here's a photo of her." She passed it to Rikishi, who paused to look at it. It was blurred, but it was obviously the same girl. She was wearing a leather jacket, laughing, straddling a motorcycle. She was swinging her head around, and there was a blurred, male figure with dark hair beside her. He passed it back.  
  
"Poor girl," Sarah said quietly. There was a sound, like she had dropped a piece of paper. Rikishi saw her bend down to pick it up.  
  
Rikishi whooped. "Yes! I've done it!" As he spoke, the fluid began to drain. The girl began to twitch. She opened her eyes slightly.  
  
"S'okay," Rikishi said loudly, so she would hear through the tank. She made a slight groaning noise, and Rikishi nodded. "Yes, we're getting you outta there!" As the last of the fluid drained away, the tank began to open automatically. The girl grimaced as she pulled at the wires that dug into her.  
  
"Oh shit!" Sarah gasped. Rikishi turned to her. She was holding another piece of paper- the paper she had dropped. It had the Skynet logo on the top, and a lot of text. Sarah snapped her head up. She glared directly at the girl, who made a small growl, pulled herself out of the tank (literally ripping the wires out of herself in the process) and stood up.  
  
"What is it?" Rikishi demanded.  
  
"She's a terminator!"  
  
"What?"  
  
The girl looked at them darkly, not seemingly bothered by the state of undress she was in. She raised her head.  
  
"Program system," she said mechanically. "Destroy all humans."  
  
She leapt. 


	3. Dark Angel

Well, I managed to finally rewrite this. A few weeks ago, my hard-drive wiped itself, including the two next chapters ready to upload. All the data was unable to be retrieved, so I've had to rewrite the WHOLE thing. A bit of a kick in the ass, but finally I've managed to do this! *waves banner* Yay. Now, I've gone on for WAAAAAY too long now, so here we go!  
  
S.A.I.N.T.  
  
"Have you ever walked through a room, but it was more like the room passed  
around you,  
Like there was a leash around your neck that pulled you through,  
Have you ever been at some place, recognising everybody's face,  
Until you realised that there was no one that you knew."  
-The Offspring, Have You Ever?  
  
She leapt.  
  
Everything seemed to be in slow motion for Rikishi. The girl was hurtling towards him, still naked, and still dripping with the fluid from the tank, but her eyes dead and evil, her hands outstretched. When she finally made contact, he realised that her move had not been slow, but had been faster then he could imagine. Her momentum threw them back onto the hard, cold floor, where she straddled him. Her hands were wrapped around her neck, choking the life out of him. But all he could do was lie there and wonder 'Why?'  
  
"Get off him!" Sarah screamed from behind, vainly. But the terminator seemed to have not heard. As he began to gag, Rikishi managed to lift his hands and grasp hers in an attempt to pull her off but she was far too strong.  
  
BLAM! BLAM!  
  
Sarah had fired. Rikishi had seen the terminator's eyes widen as she was hit. Emotionless, she let go of Rikishi and climbed to her feet and faced Sarah. Two small holes in her back trickled blood. Rikishi rolled over and coughed. He heard a bang, and saw that the terminator had grabbed Sarah by the throat and slammed her against the wall. Sarah growled at Rikishi.  
  
"Shoot her already!" she managed to gasp.  
  
Instinctively, Rikishi removed his gun from his holster. But as he took aim, he felt a pang of guilt, and his stomach flipped. The terminator.she was that sweet little teenaged girl on the motorcycle from that photograph. That poor little girl.he couldn't shoot her.  
  
But he could hit her.  
  
He swung the gun and hit her with the handle. She fell sideways, and let Sarah go. Sarah slumped to the floor and coughed, as Rikishi had done. The terminator turned and glared at him. She stepped forward, a menacing look upon her face. Her eyes were dull, dead like a shark's. In a blur, she had grabbed him by the jaw and pinned him against the wall.  
  
"You should have killed me," she growled.  
  
Then she began to squeeze.  
  
"AAAAAAAARGH!"  
  
The pain was unbearable. She was being careful not to break his jaw...at least not yet, so it seemed. He screamed, the agony was horrid.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
Sarah was stooped on the floor, her hand wrapping around a large, serrated piece of glass. The terminator had not responded to Sarah, so she had stepped up behind her. Rikishi tried to hang on, watching as Sarah raised her hand, and plunged it downwards.  
  
As Sarah stabbed her back, the machine barely seemed to flinch. But she did turn to grab Sarah with her left hand. As she did so, Sarah struck.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"  
  
The bloodcurdling scream rang out as Sarah pinned the girl's hand to the wall, with the glass. Blood poured. With the distraction, the machine let Rikishi go, and he stumbled to Sarah's side. He felt his stomach clench, at the sight of the bloody mess that was the terminator's hand. He swore he could see the crackle of electricity about it.  
  
Another horrid scream of agony sounded as the terminator gingerly pulled the glass shard out of her hand, and more blood splashed to the floor. She looked about with a pleading look in her eyes. Her eyes met Rikishi's, and he knew something was different. Before hand, they had seemed dead. But now they were bright and tears began forming in the blue orbs. She slumped to the floor, and hugged herself, huddled in the corner, sobbing.  
  
Rikishi and Sarah exchanged looks. Sarah shrugged. Rikishi cautiously approached. The girl, with her head on her knees, continued to cry. Rikishi lowered and placed a hand on the soft skin of her shoulder. She glanced up at him fearfully. Then she realised the state of undress she was in, and huddled herself into the corner even more, trying to obscure her nakedness.  
  
Rikishi lowered next to her. She choked back a sob as she felt his hand on her back.  
  
"Leave me alone," she whispered.  
  
He frowned. "What?"  
  
"Just leave me alone!" she cried. "I don't know who you are, but just please...please leave me alone!"  
  
Sarah raised an eyebrow. "What are you saying? I seem to remember you attacking us?"  
  
The girl lifted her head, blue eyes glittering, tears streaming down her cheeks. "What?"  
  
Rikishi was just as confused as the girl. But Sarah had a knowing look upon her face. Sarah turned to one of the tables and picked up a clipboard. It was the one she had been reading from earlier. Sarah smiled nastily.  
  
"Don't you know that you're a terminator, kid?"  
  
The girl looked shocked. "T-terminator? That's...that's a robot. I'm not a robot. What are you saying?"  
  
"You heard me," Sarah replied. "You are a terminator." The girl shook her head from side to side, in denial. Sarah sighed heavily and spoke again. "What's your name?"  
  
The girl stopped shaking her head and opened her mouth to answer, but then stopped and looked confused.  
  
Rikishi glanced at Sarah. She was flipping through the papers again. "Heh, no wonder you can't remember. It says that you're a SAINT T17/X. SAINT stands for 'Super Artificial Intelligent Neurone Transformer.'" She looked up and looked at Rikishi. "Neurone Transformer. She was a normal kid once. She's been 'upgraded'."  
  
The girl was crying again. Sarah was fumbling around with the papers and stuff, stuffing them in her pockets. Rikishi knelt beside the girl. Now that she wasn't rampaging and strangling him, he felt the strong empathy return. He put an arm around her. She looked up at him, and seemed to relax as her eyes met his. She rested her head against his chest. It felt.right.like he had been in this situation before. He rubbed her back. She murmured something to herself that sounded something like "What's my name?"  
  
"You know," he said, "'Joan Doe' is going to suck. Joan doesn't suit you. How about we call you Saint until we figure out who you are, huh?"  
  
She glanced at him, unable to smile, but her eyes definitely looking bright and hopeful. Rikishi grinned. He turned to Sarah. "Don't you think? Saint's a pretty name."  
  
Sarah glared at him. She was not happy. She fumbled with her pockets and then pulled her gun out. "You idiot. Get away from her."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You shit for brains. You know she's a terminator. This is probably some dumb act to get us to let our guard down." She took aim and the poor kid blanched. "We ought to kill her now, and get her out of the way."  
  
"SARAH!" Rikishi snapped, leaping to his feet. "You can't- she's helpless!"  
  
"Helpless my ass," Sarah replied. "Have you already forgotten that she was trying to kill you?"  
  
Saint started crying again. She was a most pitiful thing to see- huddled on the floor, hugging herself, bleeding, and crying, staring up the barrel of Sarah's gun. She made a pleading sniffing noise, and Rikishi growled.  
  
"She's scared!"  
  
"So she should be. I'm gonna blow her head in."  
  
Saint's eyes went wide, and she bit her lip. She stared up pleadingly, almost endearingly, at Sarah. But she ignored the girl, and took the gun off safety.  
  
"Any last words?"  
  
Saint's eyes rolled shut and she collapsed on the floor. Sarah lowered her weapon, a look of complete astonishment on her face. Rikishi leaned over and checked her over. She was out cold.  
  
"Poor thing," he muttered. "She was terrified."  
  
Sarah rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right, like a lion is scared of a kitten."  
  
"You said so yourself, that she has no memory. She has no idea that she attacked us." He lifted her up, and then remembered that she was still naked. "Grab one of those lab coats that were left behind. We can't bring her back starkers."  
  
"Bring her back?"  
  
"Yes, bring her back!" Rikishi snapped. "You know, two of your friends died to get into this place, and even if my reasons for bringing her back are different, you need Saint. She's evidence to whatever it is that this bastards were doing down here. No go and get a lab coat."  
  
Sarah sneered at him for a moment, but he was right. She stamped off sulkily for a second. Rikishi fondly touched Saint's cheek. She was such a pretty little thing, such a pitiful little girl. Sarah returned with a coat, which he promptly wrapped the girl in, then lifted the girl into his arms. He smiled inwardly. She was no where near as heavy as he expected.  
  
They started to leave the lab, and went back into the lift. On the way up Sarah made a sighing noise.  
  
"What?"  
  
"We forgot about the terminators outside. What if they're still around? What if they've trashed the bikes?" Sarah said heavily.  
  
"You didn't prepare for this?" Rikishi asked.  
  
"Yes, I have a radio, so we can be picked up."  
  
"Then I don't know why you're worried. We're safe in here, and if the bikes are trashed, we can wait in here." His voice was calm and patient and his tone seemed to reassure Sarah. Her face was etched with worry. He smiled at her. "We'll be okay, Sarah. I don't intend on dying out here."  
  
When the lift halted, Rikishi moved towards the door. There was a small hatch through which he could see the outside world. He peered through and grimaced. "There are two unarmed terminators in the distance." he told Sarah. He paused. "YES! The bikes are still there!"  
  
Sarah nodded. "I'll help you load the terminator onto your bike first. How quick do we need to be?"  
  
Rikishi bit his lip. "We've got less then sixty seconds."  
  
Sarah flung the door open. "Let's go!"  
  
They rushed out of the door and Sarah lifted Rikishi's bike, and helped him on. He sat Saint in front of him, and pressed her close to his body so she wouldn't fall. The terminators saw them, and began to approach, but they were too slow. Sarah was on her own bike in seconds and before the tin-men knew what was happening, the two soldiers had sped off over the scraggy plain.  
  
&&&***&&&***&&&***&&&***  
  
The watchman had been expecting Lieutenant Takahashi and Captain Connor. They had not been expecting that they would have a hitch hiker. They gaped at the beautiful teenaged girl in the Lieutenant's arms. But as they approached to get a better look at her, Captain Connor pushed them back.  
  
"Get medics and technicians down here, ASAP," she ordered. "Make sure they have armed escort. This woman is a new type of terminator. Get my son down here, too, I need to report this to him!" The men nodded and ran off to do Sarah's bidding, and seconds later, medics came to take Saint from Rikishi. He laid her down gently on the stretcher, and ran a hand through her corn silk hair. He touched one of the doctors, a handsome-looking Asian man, and said "Please look after her." The man smiled and nodded, but then they disappeared.  
  
Rikishi turned and looked at Sarah, who had been staring at him. When their eyes met, she looked away, a guilty blush rising on her cheeks. He had hated the way she had came in, yelling out the danger, announcing Saint as a terminator straight away. And she knew that he had resented her for it. As she looked away, Rikishi felt his blood boil. He had already developed an attachment to Saint, a girl who didn't even know her own name. But he couldn't help but feel for her. He saw the way Sarah tried to avoid his gaze. What was she thinking, he wondered. Why did she look so guilty? Did she too, pity Saint, and now felt remorse for how she treated her?  
  
Angrily, Rikishi scuffed his feet on the floor. He had seen a lot of scary shit. Fear is not something that can be faked that easily, he told himself. I saw her, her saw the terror and confusion in her eyes. She was genuinely scared. He lifted his head to see John come on, followed closely by T. It was hard to see, with the cyborg's shades, but Rikishi felt he had met T's gaze. Rikishi gave a solemn shrug and T looked away. John and Sarah were deeply engaged in conversation (no doubt John had plenty of questions to ask), but Rikishi didn't want to hear it. He walked up the corridor, following the path of the medics, hoping for some sense of peace in the white, empty halls.  
  
He approached the room Saint had been carried into. An armed man stopped him.  
  
"Can't I go in?" Rikishi asked him.  
  
The man shook his head. "The doctors don't want loads of people in there. They're complaining about the guards in there already. But personally, if she wakes up and goes bananas, they'd be complaining more if there was no security."  
  
Rikishi nodded. The guy was right. But he felt a little peeved. "You know, she's practically harmless."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Saint. The terminator."  
  
The man blinked. "'Saint'. I didn't think they came with names, only numbers. Well, I have no idea about these sort of things."  
  
"She can't remember her name. So I gave her a new one," Rikishi said in a dreamy sort of voice, peering through the glass of the door. Saint was laid out on an operating table, while the doctors hovered over her, checking her. The guy made a small chuckling noise.  
  
"She a softie like T, then?" he asked.  
  
"I guess you could say that," Rikishi murmured. The doctors were injecting her. "Hey! What are they doing?"  
  
The man looked over and put a hand on Rikishi's shoulder. "Chill, they're anaesthetising her. What if she wakes up? She could either be in a lot of pain, or whack out and attack everyone."  
  
Rikishi calmed. "Sorry. I guess I'm protective of her. Look at her, she's so young..."  
  
The man tilted his head. "I don't recognise you. What's your name?"  
  
Rikishi looked at him. "I'm Lieutenant Rikishi Takahashi. I was only transferred here today."  
  
The man smiled. "I hear you." He held out his hand, offering for a handshake. "Robert Harris. Friends call me Rumbo. Not entirely too sure why." Rikishi took his hand. Rumbo grinned. "Don't feel ashamed about the fact you feel for the kid." He jerked his thumb at Saint. "It's obvious that someone didn't. If she's harmless, like you said, she'll need someone like you, to help her through this."  
  
Rikishi looked at this man in wonder. "You...you..."  
  
Rumbo grinned. "I looked at you, and I knew you weren't scared of her, despite the way Sarah was acting around her. So I guessed that something's a little different about this terminator. Mind telling me what the deal is with her though?"  
  
Rikishi turned away from the window and leaned heavily on the wall. "She's a neurone-transformer cyborg," he said. "She used to be human, but someone.someone did this to her." He felt his blood boiling again. "When she.came to her senses.she had no idea what was going on. And then she couldn't remember who she was. She has no memory."  
  
Rumbo whistled. "Whoa."  
  
Rikishi sighed. "She passed out. Sarah had a gun aimed at her, and the poor thing, she fainted. She had no idea why Sarah was attacking her. Or she knew at that moment in time was that she was naked, bleeding, hurt and huddled on the floor, staring up at a gun barrel. I would have probably fainted too." He rubbed his forehead. "Man.she's so beautiful.so scared.I just wanted to.to hold her.and look after her."  
  
Rumbo smiled. "You've probably got a thing for her."  
  
Rikishi laughed. "She's seventeen, we think! I'm twenty-four!"  
  
Rumbo chuckled. "Not that bad an age gap. Or maybe you are just shy," he added slyly.  
  
Rikishi blushed and nodded. "I am really loud in front of people most of the time. But when I see a pretty girl that I like, I do a one-eighty. It's weird."  
  
Rumbo clapped a hand on Rikishi's shoulder in a hearty manner. "Don't be ashamed of the fact you like her. I saw her myself- she's a very beautiful young woman. And she's going to need someone who loves her to help her adjust to this world."  
  
Rikishi smiled. Somehow, talking to this guard, he had achieved that sense of peace that he had been craving.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
So, now you've met the star-lady, Saint. And Rikishi has made a friend. Duh, you already know that cos you've just read it ^^;. I best shut up and carry on with the next chapter, ne? *starts typing furiously*  
  
Thanks for the reviews so far, because even just a few have been encouraging ^-^. 


	4. Sleeping Awake

Hmmm.I would like some ice cream. Well.here's the story. Disclaimer- I do not own terminator. But I have seen T23D and I thought it was so brilliant, I bought myself a terminator dog tag with my name on it ^-  
^. Well, sorry it's taken so long, I've been very laaaaaaaaaaaaaazzeeeeeeee recently, and so on...no seriously, I was poorly and busy and so on- and I'm going to Spain on Saturday! *Waves Banner* And while I'm lounging near  
the pool I will most likely be writing notes for the next  
chapter...enjoy...  
  
S.A.I.N.T.  
  
"Now that I know what I am without, you can't just leave me here,  
Breathe into me and make me real-  
Bring me to life," -Evanescence, Bring Me to Life.  
  
What was it? She tried to focus her eyes. She tried to make out the blurry, dark objects, and make sense of the din around her. She was pressed against something warm and soft. She paused and finally, everything became clear.  
  
She was on the back of a motorcycle. She had her arms thrown around something- the driver's waist. The noise was the engine as the motorcycle ripped though darkness. All she could make out from the person was a curtain of black hair being swept back. She pressed herself to the driver. She felt safe with him. He was okay.  
  
"It's okay, Kez!" a male voice shouted back. It was the man she was hugging. "You hear me, Kez? We Garcia's stick together. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you!"  
  
She smiled and rested her head on his back. "I know you won't."  
  
Just as she was starting to feel safe and at peace, she woke up. She was lying on a cold table, and people in white coats hovered above her- doctors. She jumped up and screamed. The doctors backed away, alarmed.  
  
"Where am I?" she demanded, looking around frantically. She was no longer naked, but covered by a pinkish smock, a hospital gown. One of the doctors approached. She glared at him, eyes wide. "Where am I?" she repeated.  
  
"You're on the hospital wing at Habitat," he said. "Now get back on the table, we haven't finished treating your wounds."  
  
She looked down, and saw her right hand had been bandaged. She hesitated, not sure if she could trust this doctor. She noticed some movement, and saw a man with a gun approaching her. She grabbed a discarded scalpel and backed away into a corner.  
  
"Keep away from me," she warned, holding the scalpel out. The man continued to approach. She huddled in the corner, knowing that her feeble little blade would be nothing against that gun he was cradling. He stepped up closer.  
  
"Keep back!" she screamed, sinking to the floor. She dropped the scalpel and covered her face in her hands. "LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"  
  
"HEY!" There was a shout, and she heard quick, heavy footsteps. "Back away, leave her alone!"  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"Lieutenant Takahashi! Back off, let me deal with this."  
  
She felt strong, gentle hands on her shoulders and she gasped. She pulled her hands away from her face and stared up at into the handsome face of the man who had been in that...lab that she had woken up in.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked.  
  
She didn't answer. She had no idea why, but she threw her arms around him in a hug. His arms rubbed against her back and she relaxed in his embrace. He stood up, lifting her as he did so. He rested his chin on her head and let her hug him.  
  
"The doctors won't hurt you," he said after a moment.  
  
She looked over the lieutenant's shoulder and boldly glared at the soldier who had frightened her. "What about him?"  
  
The lieutenant looked back over his shoulder. "He won't hurt you. I promise, Saint. I wouldn't let them." He kissed her forehead gently and she sighed. She felt like a small child being cuddled by her dad. He took her hand. "Come on. Let the doctors finish up on you. You know, you were shot twice, stabbed in the back and in the hand."  
  
He led her back to the table, and she climbed up to lay down on it. She still felt awkward around all these doctors. But she saw the lieutenant, and she knew she was safe. The doctor who had tried to approach her before came near, holding a syringe. She felt a pang of fear but the doctor saw her face and smiled. "This is just morphine," he said. "It seems you're quite resistant to anaesthetic." She laid her head back, and waited for the prick of the needle. The lieutenant smiled at her.  
  
"I've gotta go," he said. "I'll see you later."  
  
She nodded, solemnly. And when he was gone, she closed her eyes, and feeling no pain, allowed herself to slip away into sleep again.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Rikishi walked into the small lounge where Sarah and John were talking to a technician.  
  
"I had her x-rayed immediately," the technician said, "because of what you said happened to her hand when she was stabbed. The x-rays showed a metallic object inside her hand, which seemed to be connected to her brain. That was the first thing we saw to- we couldn't yank it out, because we had no idea what damage we could cause to her." At this Sarah made a derisive noise, and Rikishi shot a death glance at her.  
  
The technician continued. "Well, we did remove it, after tying up the wires- and here it is." He held up a small, metal plate, about the size of a cigarette lighter. "It's a program board."  
  
John lifted an eyebrow. "A program board? Is that possible- she's a neurone transformer 'borg. I thought she couldn't be programmed like a computer?"  
  
The technician nodded. "But the human mind is a computer also- the most complex of all, but still..." He looked at the plate. "I suppose that when she first woke up, she was working on the program board, but then Captain Connor damaged it when she stabbed the cyborg."  
  
"The cyborg has a name," Rikishi growled.  
  
"Not one that we know of," Sarah muttered. "What, you're still calling her 'Saint?'"  
  
Rikishi made an impatient noise and sat down. "She's not a machine. She's a human being- that just happens to have fallen victim to some bastard's Frankenstein game." He leaned back heavily. "You know, she woke up a few minutes ago, and she got scared. She grabbed a scalpel to defend herself. But she wouldn't attack the guy who scared her. She's not a killing machine."  
  
John stood up. "I don't know what to think yet, and I won't know until I get a chance to talk to this woman."  
  
Rikishi looked at him. "What...what..."  
  
John turned to him. "Rikishi, if what you say is true, you don't have to worry for her. But this has to be done." He turned back to the technician. "Do you know when she'll be out of the hospital ward?"  
  
The technician shrugged. "I'm no doctor."  
  
John shrugged. "Okay, I'll go and see her in a little while." He started out the room, but stopped at the door. He turned and smiled. "By the way- good job, Mom. Rikishi." He left and Rikishi was left with Sarah and the technician.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Images of a black-haired man and a motorcycle faded, and she woke up again. This time, she was in a bed, and a nurse stood nearby, doing something. She felt a dull throb in her hand, and also in several places on her back. She made a groaning noise as she tried to sit up, a searing pain radiating from her shoulder blade. The nurse heard and turned around.  
  
"Settle down," she said. "You've got some nasty injuries."  
  
"What.what were they?" Saint asked. She had forgotten.  
  
"You had two bullet wounds in your back, a stab wound on your shoulder blade, and also on your hand," the nurse told her. Saint scratched her head. When she had 'woken up' to find those two soldiers standing over her, she had noticed that she was bleeding, and had even acknowledged physical pain, but it had been dull. She knew she didn't know a lot of anything, but she did know that being shot and stabbed in the back was not exactly a good thing.  
  
"Err, could you get someone, for me?" she asked the nurse shyly. "That Lieutenant who came in when I woke up. I can't remember his name.do you think could you ask him to come here?"  
  
The nurse nodded and left the room. Saint sat back and rested her eyes. Where was she anyway? She didn't know 'Habitat' although for some really weird reason, it sounded familiar. She lifted her injured hand, still wrapped in bandages and pondered for a moment. At that moment, the door opened, and her lieutenant walked in.  
  
"Hi," he said a shy smile on his face. "Are you feeling better?"  
  
She nodded and she noticed two other men followed him in. One was a friendly-looking man in the same uniform, and the other was an armed man wearing a leather bike jacket and a pair of shades. She felt like she recognised him, and her mouth began to move before she could even begin to wonder where she had seen this man before.  
  
"T-800," she said simply. Taken aback by herself, she clasped her hands over her mouth.  
  
The other man looked surprised. "How did you know that?"  
  
She rubbed her head. "I don't know. Something in me...part of me just wanted to say that." She looked up at the guy in shades and added: "I'm assuming he's a terminator, like me?"  
  
He nodded. She looked away. Her eyes met the lieutenant's. "Err, I never caught your name," she said shyly.  
  
"Rikishi," he said warmly.  
  
The other man approached. "Saint, I'm Commander John Connor. You are at Habitat, a facility where humans have been living for many years now. I have no desire to hurt you in any way, but if it comes down that you are a threat to us, we will have to get rid of you." He said all this in a very serious, yet solemn tone. Saint listened to his words, and despite the negativity and seriousness of his words, she knew that he was a good man, and would not hurt her.  
  
Rikishi placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I don't believe she is a threat to us."  
  
John nodded. "Yes, but she is very powerful- she took two bullets to her back, that probably would have killed her, as well as two stab wounds. And she did attempt to kill you and my mother."  
  
Saint looked up, with the protesting look of a punished child. "But..., but I wouldn't- I didn't do anything!"  
  
John shook his head. "Saint, you were programmed to kill all humans. And you tried to carry out your programming. Do you remember the pain in your hand?"  
  
She nodded, unconsciously rubbing her injured hand.  
  
"There was a program board connected to your brain, inside your palm. You attacked Rikishi, here, and the other soldier- Captain Connor- stabbed your hand, pinning it to the wall. At that moment, the program was destroyed, and your own individual consciousness was asserted. In English, you-"  
  
"Returned to normal," Saint finished. "But I haven't. If I had, I would know who I was... and why..." She paused to choke back a sob. "Why was this done to me? Why? What was different about me that meant that I deserved to have this happen? Who wanted to do this?" She broke down into tears, knowing that these men did not have the answers she wanted, no, needed. She felt strong arms around her, and she knew it was Rikishi. She leaned on him and relaxed in his embrace.  
  
"We might have a part of an answer to your question," John said after Saint had relaxed. "We found some of your medical files... well, Captain Connor did, and it seems quite likely that you were a fraternal twin."  
  
Saint lifted her head. "What?"  
  
"It's only a possibility. But sometimes, twins are often used for experiments. Normally, identical twins, but sometimes, you'll find that beggars can't be choosers. We're trying to find out everything we can from your medical files, and then hopefully, we maybe able to find out who you are." John smiled at her. "I think you're genuinely unaware of what's happened to you. But there may be some who will not accept you straight away. So I suggest you stay with Rikishi."  
  
She looked up at John. "So...so I can stay?"  
  
John nodded and smiled. "Of course."  
  
She leapt forward and hugged him. He seemed quite surprised and the terminator behind him seemed to tense, but then relaxed. John gave her a pat on the shoulder. She pulled back, a grateful smile on her face. "Thank you."  
  
John stood up and smiled. "Rikishi, would you minded if she stayed at your apartment?"  
  
Rikishi smiled. "Of course I wouldn't. It'd be my pleasure."  
  
John gave him a grateful smile and turned to leave. The terminator gave an acknowledging nod, and followed. Rikishi took Saint's hand. She smiled at him, and felt a strange, warm feeling in her chest as she met his gaze. "You don't mind me staying with you, do you?" she asked.  
  
He smiled and shook his head. "I like you, already, Saint. I hate to sound patronising, but when I saw you in the tank...before you woke up... I knew. I knew that I had to look after you." She felt a blush and hugged herself. He smiled again and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "I'm new here too, so we're both in the same boat."  
  
She grinned. "Cool. I'd hate to feel like the new-kid or something. But I guess it'll be more like the new serial killer."  
  
Rikishi snorted. "You haven't killed anyone. There's nothing to be worried about. If people have a problem with you, just ignore them."  
  
"Thanks." She swivelled on the bed. "So, err, when can I get out of this ward?"  
  
Rikishi looked around. "I'll ask a nurse. You feel better already? You were shot twice in the back."  
  
She shrugged. "Yeah...I guess being a terminator has its upsides. I don't feel much pain in my back at all. Not now, anyway..." She heard footsteps and lifted her head. A woman in the fatigue uniform had walked in...and Saint had seen her before.  
  
Saint leapt to her feet. She hid behind Rikishi, and peered over his shoulder. The woman gave a sigh and shot an insolent look at her. Saint scowled.  
  
"Don't look at me like that, terminator," the woman growled. "I have you figured out."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Get out of here, Sarah!" Rikishi yelled suddenly, the unexpected loudness in his voice actually making Saint jump a little.  
  
Sarah ignored him. "I should've killed you back at the lab! I know you're just playing dumb."  
  
Saint felt her eyes stinging with the threat of tears. "How...could you say that? I don't want to hurt anyone!"  
  
"Ass!"  
  
Rikishi stood up and approached Sarah in a threatening manner. "I told you to leave her alone! This is a hospital ward, not an interrogation room. Now get out before I tell John what you've been doing. He trusts Saint- you should too!"  
  
Sarah and Rikishi squared each other up for a moment, but after a few tense seconds, it seemed that Rikishi had won the staring contest. Sarah turned and left in a huff. Rikishi exhaled heavily and turned back to Saint. "I'm so sorry," he told her. "She's such a bitch."  
  
Saint shrugged her shoulders. "Well...after being attacked by me, I guess I can't blame her."  
  
Rikishi turned to her. "Saint, you tried to throttle me twice. Do you see me flinch every time you move?"  
  
Saint felt a horrible guilt wash over her. "I...did that to you...?"  
  
Rikishi smiled. "Don't sweat it. I'm not holding anything against you. I trust you."  
  
She blushed; she could feel the warmth in her cheeks. "That...that really means a lot to me, Rikishi. Thank you."  
  
He moved off to find a nurse. Saint wrung her hands, and stared down at her injured hand. Just because of something...a piece of machine in her hand...she had tried to hurt people. Perplexed, and still a little confused, she waited.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
The doctors were happy to let Saint go to Rikishi's apartment. It got the security out of their way, and she seemed healthy enough. One of the nurses leant Saint some clothes, and after she was dressed, she was sent up to join Rikishi.  
  
She blushed as soon as he opened the door. She was wearing a rather low neckline shirt, and a pair of tight jeans. She clamped her arms over her chest and he laughed. "What's the matter?"  
  
"I feel kind of embarrassed," she muttered.  
  
"Why? I've seen you without your clothes, you know," Rikishi said dimly. Saint blushed even more, her cheeks burning from the shame. This time, however, Rikishi turned red as well. "Sorry. That wasn't exactly the most brilliant line."  
  
"Nope, not really."  
  
Rikishi stepped aside so she could enter the apartment. She sat down on a couch, trying to pull her top up higher, looking quite ashamed. He walked off into his kitchen. "Do you want anything to drink?" he asked.  
  
Saint lifted her head. "I don't know...erm.tea?"  
  
"Sure." Rikishi put a kettle on and continued doing something in the kitchen. Making his dinner, no doubt. After a few minutes, the kettle boiled, and Rikishi sauntered over with a mug, which he gave to Saint. She took a sip. "Thanks."  
  
"S'alright. I'm making some noodles and soup for dinner. I hope you don't mind."  
  
"No, of course not." She had no idea if she liked noodles and soup, but she felt that complaining would be inappropriate. She wrung her hands and looked around the room. It was still very plain, but Rikishi said he had only just arrived, so that made sense. It was a light creamy colour, and there was a TV, and this cute little couch. There was another room that she assumed was the bedroom. It seemed quite cosy.  
  
Rikishi came and sat next to her. "You want to watch some TV?"  
  
She shrugged. "I guess." He picked up the remote and turned it on. Saint didn't recognise any of the images that flashed across the screen. She lay back and her head touched Rikishi's chest. Embarrassed, she moved away. He smiled at her.  
  
"You can snuggle up if you wanted," he said.  
  
She lay back again, and he put an arm around her. She suddenly went rigid and he moved away. "Is there something wrong?"  
  
She shook her head. "I have no idea...I'm sorry..." She put her face in her hands. "I don't know...I don't know..." She got up and started for the door. Rikishi stood up and ran to the door to stop her.  
  
"Saint, it'd be best if you stayed here," he told her.  
  
She shook her head. "No." Her hand latched onto the door handle. He took her arm and she spun around to throw him off.  
  
WHUMPH! He flew into the opposite wall heavily. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Rikishi massaged his head. "Jesus, what was the number on that truck?" he muttered. He climbed to his feet and Saint started crying.  
  
-FLASH-  
  
"Hang on Kez! I'm getting you out of here!"  
  
"NO! JET! JET! LOOK OUT!"  
  
-FLASH-  
  
A very cute boy with blonde hair. She throws her arms around him. "Hey, Orlando."  
  
"Hey, Kez. Whats up?"  
  
-FLASH-  
  
"JET! NOOOOOOOOOO!"  
  
A tree rose out of the darkness and then-  
  
Saint collapsed onto the floor in tears. The faces were still there. The blonde boy, the black haired boy on his motorcycle...why...who...all she could remember was the blood and pain when the tree had come from no where...  
  
She lifted her head. Rikishi was rubbing his back, looking a little wary of her. "I'm so, so sorry, Rikishi," she whispered. She had hurt him, and all she had wanted to do was get him away...was she that dangerous?  
  
"Hey, it's okay," he groaned. But she could see he was still alarmed.  
  
"No it isn't." She brushed her hair out of her eyes. "You've been trying to defend me ever since you found me, and let it be known that I'm not dangerous, yet I have thrown you across the room without effort. You call that safe? I can't be near humans like this!"  
  
"Saint!" he snapped. "That was an accident!"  
  
"Yes, I know!" she snapped back, shocked by the ferocity in her own voice. "But accidents happen too easily. I could end up seriously hurting someone, by ACCIDENT!" She paused and started to breathe heavily. Rikishi opened his mouth to speak and she raised a hand to cut him off. "No! No. Sarah was right."  
  
"The day Sarah is right about that is the day that eagles come flying out of my ass!" he yelled.  
  
Saint was stunned. She was still crying. She wiped her eyes with the heal of her hand. "I wish I had your confidence, Rikishi. But I think...I think I have more then one problem..." She took a deep breath. "Rikishi, I think I'm going insane. I've been...been alive for maybe a day and I'm already losing it."  
  
"What?"  
  
She didn't cry but she flopped onto the sofa again, feeling all her energy flow away. "I keep seeing things...in my head."  
  
Rikishi came and sat next to her. "What, exactly, do you keep seeing?"  
  
"There was a blonde boy. He...I hug him...and there's always a black- haired boy. He rides a motorcycle... and..." The memories came flooding back- blood on bark. The boy was... "I think he hits a tree...and gets hurt..."  
  
She couldn't stop the tears. And Rikishi couldn't embrace her. He threw his arms about her and held her to him. "Why!" she cried, her voice muffled. "Why...what are these stupid pictures in my head? What!?"  
  
Rikishi pulled her away and she sniffed. He looked very serious. "Saint. Don't you realise what you're saying? These maybe memories!"  
  
*** *** ***  
  
I thought this chapter was waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too soppy, and I'm sure loads of you will agree, but this part is quite vital for the rest of the story. And loads of action is on the way soon, so that should make up for all the soppy crap ^^; OOOOOOH!!! *announcer voice* Who is Jet? Who is Orlando? Who is Kez? Find out on the next episode...^-^ 


End file.
